Burton L. Edelstein, MPH, DDS, BA

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Overview

Academic Appointments

Professor of Dental Medicine and Health Policy and Management at CUMC

Administrative Titles

Chair, Section of Population Oral Health

Director, Division of Behavioral Sciences

Burton Edelstein DDS MPH is Professor of Dental Medicine and Health Policy at Columbia University where he chairs the Section of Population Oral Health at the College of Dental Medicine. He is also Senior Fellow in Public Policy and President Emeritus of the DC-based Children’s Dental Health Project (www.cdhp.org), a nonprofit policy organization that advances the oral health interests of children and their families. A Board Certified pediatric dentist, Edelstein practiced pediatric dentistry in Connecticut and taught at Harvard before relocating to Washington DC to serve as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and Health Legislative Aide to the U.S. Senate Minority Leader. He contributed to the U.S. Surgeon General’s Oral Health in America report, led the Surgeon General’s Workshop on Children and Oral Health, and managed a federal interagency Oral Health Initiative. He has participated in four Institute of Medicine projects, testified before Congress multiple times on dental care for children, and provided support to Government Accountability Office’s dental studies. From 2009 to 2014 he served on the federal Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) that advises Congress, Agencies, and States on Medicaid and CHIP policy. At Columbia, Burt leads an interdisciplinary Early Childhood Caries prevention and innovation study and directs four federal training grants: one for pre-doctoral students that includes the DDS-MPH Scholars Program; one for post-doctoral pediatric dentistry fellows, one for faculty development, and one for AEGD Fellows in the care of people living with HIV/AIDS. His academic and consulting contributions focus on public policies that affect children’s oral health and their access to care. Through CDHP, he has helped secure legislation and regulation for dental coverage in CHIP and Health Reform (ACA) while protecting the dental benefit in Medicaid. His more than 100 publications include contributions to the peer-reviewed dental literature, book chapters, commissioned papers, and policy documents.

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

BA, Biological Sciences, Harpur College

DDS, State University of New York at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine

Honors & Awards

Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Honorary Fraternity Clinical Research Award, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Fellow, American College of Dentists Dental Visionary Award, American Student Dental Association Pediatric Dentist of the Year, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Distinguished Service Award, Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors Distinguished Alumnus Award, Harvard School of Dental Medicine Outstanding Service Award, American College of Dentists Fogarty Memorial Lecturer, Baltimore College of Dentistry Presidential Citation, American Dental Education Association Cushing Award, Chicago Dental Society Public Advocacy Award, Friends of the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research Fones Memorial Medal, Connecticut State Dental Association Edward Zegarelli Teaching Award, Columbia University College of DentalMedicine Foundation of Excellence in Community Service Award, New York State Dental Association Foundation Distinguished Service Award, American Association of Public Health Dentistry Visionary Leadership Award, Medicaid-CHIP State Dental Association Shils Award, Dr. Edward B. Shils Entrepreneurial Education Fund Fellow International College of Dentists Research Mentor of the Year Award, American Association for Dental Research National Student Research Group Research Mentor of the Year, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine

Marvin Goldstein Outstanding Service Award, Oral Health America

Research

The common goal of our multiple health services and clinical research studies is to improve the oral health of all children.

We conduct descriptive policy research and pediatric oral health services research that is important to public policymaking and has immediate utility to federal and state legislative and programmatic action.